Helping the Overweight Child - How you can help your child

As a parent, your job
is to give your child the tools for a healthy lifestyle and remain as relaxed
as possible about the result.

To help your overweight child eat
well, use the same healthy eating approach with everyone in your family:

Eat together as a family as much as possible. The
entire family, regardless of each family member's weight, should be offered the
same food choices at meals.

Choose water instead of sugary drinks,
such as sport drinks, soft drinks, and fruit-flavored drinks. For some kids,
cutting back on sugary drinks makes a big difference in balancing the calories
that they take in and burn off.

Remember that all foods, even
less nutritious foods in small amounts, can fit into a healthy diet. Do not
make any food item completely off limits. This may increase the desire for the
forbidden food and can lead children to overeat when they get the chance.

Avoid power struggles over food. Your job is to provide healthy choices at specific
snack and mealtimes. It's your child's job to choose to eat or not
eat.

Have a regular meal and snack routine instead of snacking
throughout the day. Schedule snacks for when your child is most hungry, such as
after school or exercise.

Offer nutritious food choices.

Keep foods moderate in calories to help your child avoid
getting too many calories. But don't make meals so low-calorie that your child
can't feel full.

Avoid using food as a reward, whether for an
achievement or for "eating all your green beans." (The "nutritious food,
then dessert" tactic makes the healthier food seem like a less desirable
food.)

Serve dessert as part of the meal to avoid the "dessert
struggle." Offer healthier desserts, such as yogurt and fruit, more often than
rich desserts. When you serve a rich dessert, it's okay to set out a single
portion for each person.

To help your overweight child develop a balance between
the calories he or she takes in and burns off:

Shift the focus away from pounds and toward a
healthy lifestyle by avoiding weighing your child every day. Think about not even
using the bathroom scale.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions

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